Our life and travels, from fulltime Rv living, to a new home in the North Georgia Mountains, our other "home" in the Florida Keys, and traveling in our new mini RV.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Leaving the Keys with Mr. Murphy

Naples, Florida at Club Naples Rv Resort (high 92, low 70)

After 3 1/2 months, we finally felt that we were ready to leave the Keys. Every other time we’ve been there, we were very sad to leave, but I guess we finally got our fill of the Keys…..for now. We’ll be very glad to go back next winter.

The boat is all wrapped up and waiting for our return. It’s at a storage facility on Big Pine Key. This year we splurged and had them cover it for us. We have a canvas boat cover, but you can’t just throw it on and go. You have to make sure no water will pool on the canvas, so you use ropes to make a little tent. Then of course, it has to be tied securely for those summer storms. It’s then topped with a plastic tarp. They said they would do all this for $75, so we jumped on that.

We finished packing up for our move and were ready to go. We always breathe a sigh of relief when the slides retract, the coach engine starts and things are all good. All was well, so the next challenge was to pull out of our site.

With some difficulty, we managed to pull forward out of our site. We were parked close to the concrete pad in order for the slide to clear the power pedestal. He had to pull forward until he cleared the concrete and we also had some bushes on the drivers side that needed to be considered. We had trimmed those bushes, but evidently not quite enough. They are on the site next to us and are planted right up to the edge of the road. They aren’t ours, or I’d remove the ones next to the road. They are growing over onto our side, so we feel we are within our rights to trim them.

I’m writing this mostly to remind myself of the difficulties we had getting in and out of the site. The site is a pull through site. You have to make a sharp left turn getting in from a curved road, and you have to clear the power pedestal pulling in and be far enough for the slides to clear it, but not on top of the concrete deck on the other side. It’s tricky, getting in and out. The lot was not designed for such a large rig. It’s do-able, but we ended up driving on the concrete (and cracking it) when we pulled in. We were determined not to drive over the concrete pulling out, and we succeeded, but we’re thinking of having the concrete pad cut off about a foot on the side nearest the coach and extend it a foot on the other side. Wonder how expensive that would be? I guess we’ll try to get an estimate.

Anyway…..after breathing another sign of relief that we got out of the site unscathed, we proceeded to hook up the truck to the motorhome. We got it all hooked up, but when Al went to release the driveshaft disconnect, the lever came out in his hand. That’s NOT good!

Our new Nissan Frontier was not flat towable like our older model, so we ended up having to have a special driveshaft made. There is a lever on the drivers side that you pull to disconnect the driveshaft prior to towing. It’s worked well for nearly two years, but yesterday something happened, so we could not tow the truck. I would have to follow along behind Al in the motor home. Not our favorite way to travel.

We enjoyed our last drive through the Keys. The most beautiful island is Islamorada and we don’t get up there as often since we moved down to Cudjoe Key. The water is always beautiful shades of blue and turquoise.

After many bridges and a lot of pretty water, we finally got out of the Keys after about 75 miles. We planned on fueling up at a truck stop that we have been to several times. It’s easy to miss and you have to remember you have to exit left from the interstate whether you’re heading north or south. Don’t you know, we ended up missing the station! Our fuel gauge quit working on the way down, so we’re not sure exactly how much fuel we have left. We wrote down the mileage the last time we fueled up, and we should be fine, but we would feel better with some diesel.

We had another little incident and I had to keep an eye on my mirrors so see if the police might be chasing me. We have a Sunpass account with a gadget on the mirror. It automatically charges our account when we are on a toll road. When the truck is attached, it picks up both the coach and the truck. Since I was driving along behind Al, and HAD NO MONEY WITH ME, I had no choice but to blow through the tolls without paying! Of course, that’s when I realized my drivers license was in the coach. I’m sure my license plate was photographed. I’ll have to call them and see what I need to do. Don’t want to get arrested!

We arrived at Club Naples Rv resort on the west coast of Florida. We’re in pull through site #J8. It’s a nice place to spend a night and with the Passport America rate, only $20.

We should arrive back in Tampa later today. The nearest truck stop is 30 miles from here. I hope we make it!

George accidentally blew through a Sunpass lane before we bought one while we were there. He tried to pay the next guy, but he said that they would send him the toll in the mail. This was back in February, and we haven't seen anything yet :)

Wow those are some back on the road stressers for sure. Sunpass will send you a bill. You don't have to worry about it. Or at least that's what happened to us. Not sure they do it if you are not a FL resident though. Laurel may never get billed.....lucky duck.

I saw the toll signs but never went through a toll booth. Where is it? Do you pay on the way out only? Oh dear Hope we don't get arrested lol Should we get a sunpass?? We are headed to Key West for the day today...

If you didn't go through a toll booth, don't worry. They take a photo of your license plate and will send you a bill. Our toll booth was was getting on I75 at Alligator alley from the Fl turnpike. Be sure to look for the bill in the mail though. It's easy to think it's junk mail and miss it.

Have fun in KW. Be sure to go to Mallory Square and watch the sunset (even though the sun has moved and goes down behind an island). I'm sure you'll find the infamous Duval street. Roosevelt blvd runs all around KW. The beach is off of North Roosevelt (to the left as you enter)

If you get a chance stop at mile marker 23 in Cudjoe Key and have a meal at the Square Grouper......its our favorite restaurant. Our rv lot is nearby

I am guessing what happened was that the bolt that holds the cable to the disconnect mechanism came off. It happened to us once but we were already disconnected ant the lever just pushed to the floor with nothing. If Al gets underneath it I think he will be able to see the problem. They will send you a notice on the toll and you just have to give them your sunpass # and they will charge it to your account.

I got a bill for the toll and a fine in the mail once with a picture of our toad license plate from EZ Pass after going over the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Even though the toad was connected to the motorhome at the time and the reader was properly in the windshield.

I called them up and complained, they voided the fine and I had to send them a check...for one dollar. Don't ask me how they came up with that amount.

Hi! I just wanted to say your blog is great! I have enjoyed reading it. We got a used travato last year and my husband and I have been planning our trips for this summer!! We will be heading to the keys!! I can't wait!! Happy travels!!

We went thru a tool booth but no one was there to pay. I got a bill that had the toll plus a $100 fine. I called them and was told they would cancel the fine if I would give them a credit card for the toll. Hope you don't go to jail!